Venice is a legendary city that was established in 811AD and consists of 117 islands, 150 canals and 400 bridges. Venice grew into a maritime republic that controlled the eastern Mediterranean for almost a thousand years. In 1797, Napoleon entered Venice and ended the longest running independent republic in history.
Most of the buildings that exist today were built between the 12th and 18th Centuries. However, the foundations holding up these buildings are much older. To be able to build this magnificent city, the architects had to use thousands upon thousands of larch and oak trees to make wooden pilings that were manually driven down through the mud to be able to support the structures that would be built above them. Lack of oxygen in the clay saved the wood from decomposition, turning the pilings into petrified wood and hard as rock. Today, the biggest enemy of Venice is the rising level of sea water that removes the silt layer one millimeter per year. This silt layer is all that protects the tops of the wooden pilings from oxygen which creates wood rot. At which point, those wooden pilings would need to be replaced, an extremely difficult and expensive procedure as you can well imagine.
As it was raining for most of the day, we toured the interior of the Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) and went to the top of the Campanile.
The Doge's Palace was the symbol of Venetian power and glory. Not only the residence of the Doge (Prince) but also the seat of government, law courts and a prison. The Palace was built in the 12th century but was transformed into what we see today between the 13th and 16th centuries. The rooms of the Doges residence have no furniture as each Doge was elected by The Great Council for life and had to bring his own furniture with him. His family removed the furniture after his death. Over the centuries, the average age of the Doge when elected was 72 years. The was tour was facinating and well worth the time.
The Campanile stands 99 m (325ft) and is a reconstruction of the original 15th century bell tower which collapsed in 1902. It's the tallest building in Venice and offers wonderful views of the city, grand canal and lagoon.
Tomorrow promises to be sunny again and we will do a lot more exploring.
Built of pink and white marble, the impressive Palazzo Ducale in the Piazza San Marco
The inner courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale
The Golden Staircase that takes you to the Doges residence
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